Planting knowledge

-- Paula Pisani

Perry Elementary School Principal Elaine Keeley often reads to students

under the big ash tree on campus.

Wouldn’t it be great, students thought, if there were more places like

that on campus?In collaboration with the Huntington Beach Tree Society,

the school received a $2,800 grant from the state Department of Forestry

and bought 44 trees, which students helped to plant on school grounds

Friday.

The trees -- sycamores, liquidambars, pistachios and jacarandas -- were

dedicated to teachers, city and school officials, and members of the Tree

Society.

During the opening ceremony, the tree was used as an analogy for how

students and teachers learn together: They start with a solid foundation

of a root system, build a strong trunk as a base to grow from and then

grow limbs and leaves, which represent each individual’s special

interest.

Susie Olson, a landscape architect and member of the Tree Society, helped

with the design and placement of the plantings.

After the ceremony, 588 students participated in a jog-a-thon, sponsored

by Tilly’s, to raise money for field trips and arts programs.

“They raised quite a bit of money,” Keeley said. “And they were well

rewarded with stickers, key chains and folders.”